Kane County Chronicle
September 11, 2007
BIG ROCK – Area environmental groups are sponsoring a digital
photo contest focusing on what would be lost if the Prairie Parkway
were to be built between Interstate 80 and Interstate 88 in Grundy,
Kendall and Kane counties.
Contest winners will share $900 in prizes, with a $300 grand prize and
$150 first prizes in each of four categories. The entry deadline is
Sept. 15.
“We want to highlight and preserve images of the environment,
farming, and rural community life that would be lost if this highway is
built,” said Jan Strasma of Citizens Against the Sprawlway, one
of the sponsors.
The organizations support expansion and improvement of existing highways instead of building a new road.
The contest categories encompass what would be changed and lost if the
highway is built – agriculture, rural, small-town life and the
environment.
A fourth category – open to entrants 16 and younger – may
include images representing any of the three adult categories.
“The Prairie Parkway would cut a swath through Grundy, Kendall
and Kane counties, with its impacts reaching out as much as 5 miles
from the highway,” said Tim Gerk of Kendall Citizens for Farmland
Protection, another of the contest sponsors.
The highway would destroy thousands of acres of prime farmland,
threaten high-quality waterways, and accelerate sprawl, he added.
Photos will be judged on artistic and aesthetic quality, originality,
and appropriateness of the subject. The images must be of a subject or
location within 5 miles of the Prairie Parkway route.
Winning images will be posted on the organizations’ Web sites and may be displayed at events held by the groups.
Entries may be submitted by e-mail or in CD-ROM format by mail.
Entrants may submit one photo in each of the adult categories. Youth
entrants may submit one photo for consideration.
Contest details are available online at www.sprawlway.org or by e-mail sent to ppcontest@mac.com.